came on again. they can be game changers.1980,ronaldreaganwaswhere romney was, behind in the polls. reagan came on and took on an incumbent president, jim cia why ther, performed well in the debates and the rest is history. it started him on his way to a landslide victory in 1980. >> do you think debates actually help voters decide which person to back if they're on the fence as to which direction to go? >> i think they make a difference, particularly for mitt romney. look, barack obama, whether you love him or dislike him, think he's a great leader or think he's failed, we kind of know what he's going to be like as president. we've had him for 3 1/2 years. mitt romney is still an open book. people have to say, do i want to live with this guy every day? is he going to be quick on his feet? how prone is he to gaffes? does he know how to spar? does he show an inner toughness? in truth the pressure is on mitt romney on this first debate to seem to be -- at least get parity with president obama or victory with the immediate pundit analysis after the game. >> when you have a challenger

a consistent advantageoverronaldreaganbutthe final presidential debate changed everything leading to a reagan landslide. now he is building a lead in key battleground states, a consultant who worked for jimmy carter, finding the right sample to survey can be tricky. >> we know from exit polls that republicans tend to respond to these polls less than oftentimes particularly to news organizations less than do democrats. >> reporter: in. >> julie: 8 there was a huge swing. dukakis lost to bush. in 1992 incumbent president was down nine points in mid-september and was tied with bill clinton by the end of october. the clinton eventually won. former clinton pollster is questioning the assumptions being made in today's polls. >> these polls are assuming that you have the same high level of african-american, latino and young people vote in 2012 that you had in 2008. >> obama campaign senior advisor david axelrod said they widely vary so when they all pointed in one direction, they are all wrong. but we are planning for a close race as we always have. another democratic strategist offered

ronaldreaganandpresident jimmy carter. will we see a similar moment this time around? >> governor reagan again, typically is against such a proposal. >> governor, there you go again. ♪ leaving my homeland ♪ pling a lone hand ♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪ fly by night away from here ♪ ♪ change my life again ♪ ♪ fly by night, goodbye my dear ♪ ♪ my ship isn't coming ♪ and i just can't pretend oww! ♪ [ male announcer ] careful, you're no longer invisible in a midsize sedan. the volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. that's the power of german engineering. droid does. and does it launch apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4me. droid does. keep left at the fork. does it do turn-by-turn navigation ? droid does. with verizon, america's largest 4g lte network, and motorola, droid does. get $100 off select motorola 4g lte smartphones like the droid razr. for the spender who needs a little help saving. for adding "& sons." for the dreamer, planning an early escape. for the mother of the bride. for whoever you are, for whatever you're